Missing Presidential Decree Saga May Go to Bulgaria's Constitutional Court

In two weeks' time, the Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) will decide whether or not to refer the case of the missing decree of Bulgaria's former President Georgi Parvanov to the Constitutional Court (KS), VAS Chair Georgi Kolev announced.

Last week VAS asked President Rosen Plevneliev to provide the decree through which his predecessor Georgi Parvanov authorized Vice President Angel Marin to award and revoke citizenship during his second term in office.

The lawsuit was opened after a complaint filed by Konstantin Tsiganov, alleged Russian mafia thug, who contested the removal of his citizenship.

In the course of the trial, VAS asked the President's Office to come up with a statement confirming the lack of the much-debated decree.

The decision on referring the case to KS would be taken within two weeks, Kolev assured, adding that the issue was beyond the competence of VAS.

If VAS decides not to notify KS, the proceedings will be terminated.

Tsiganov is said to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash and has been wanted by the Russian authorities since 2003 and by the Interpol since 2006.

He was granted Bulgarian citizenship in 2001.

Ten years later, he was expelled from Bulgaria and was banned from re-entering the country for 10 years.

The motive for the expulsion of Tsiganov and his ally, Andrey Panpurin, is that they constitute a serious threat to national security.

In March 2011, Tsiganov's citizenship was revoked due to false data and facts used to motivate his naturalization.

The Russian filed an appeal through his lawyer, Plamen Makaveev, claiming that Parvanov had failed to issue a decree authorizing Vice President to grant and revoke citizenship during the second term in office.

In 2010, when the lack of the document came out into the light, the President's Office announced that there was no need for a second decree because Marin had been authorized to carry out these activities during the first tenure.

Tsiganov's lawyer has challenged the assumption, claiming that the Vice President was not empowered to revoke his client's citizenship.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!